5 reasons you should be migrating to SharePoint 2016

It may seem a little far-fetched to claim the release of SharePoint 2016 as the highlight of the year, but considering the turbulence of 2016 it might not be too far from the truth. From the platform’s release on May 4th to the following monthly patches and its first Feature Pack, the reasons keep piling up for why you should move to SharePoint 2016. Of course, we can’t list them all out in one post, so instead we’ve gathered what we think are the top five reasons you should migrate to the best SharePoint to date.

1: Support is running out

You only have to go back three years to a time when SharePoint 2010 reigned supreme as the most popular platform iteration of choice for businesses. But 2014 also marked the beginning of Office 365’s rise to the top. Usage within enterprises grew at over 320% from 2015 to 2016, and the cloud-based platform is now used by 80% of the Fortune 500. But because SharePoint 2010—and to some extent SharePoint 2007—were so popular in a relatively recent timeframe, organizations are still using them. But this will soon have to change.

As part of the effort to continually improve Microsoft software, support for older versions of SharePoint must eventually end. Mainstream support for both platforms has already wound down, meaning they will not be updated for anything but pressing security issues, and any support calls to Microsoft will be expensive. Extended support for SharePoint 2007 ends 10th October 2017, while 2010 users have until October 2020, at which point using the platform becomes a huge security risk.

Why SharePoint 2016 is better:

As a way of bringing the success and innovation of the cloud to on-premises servers, SharePoint 2016 comes with Feature Packs. These deliver cloud features (that first come to Office 365 users) to SharePoint Server more frequently, rather than the two- to three-year release cadence of old. So even on the ground, you still get the constantly-updating element of cloud technology in your SharePoint environment.

2. Integration with Office 365

As mentioned, larger organizations with years’ worth of files and data in their on-premises servers are going to be more reluctant to pack up and move all that stuff to a new platform, let alone the cloud. But the benefits of working in the cloud are many: improved flexibility and collaboration, automatic software updates, reduced hardware costs and more can significantly lower a business’ costs and improve the productivity of workers.

Why SharePoint 2016 is better:

From unified search to a reformed user interface, SharePoint 2016 is about as ‘Office 365’ as you can get while remaining on-premises. This makes it a great option for organizations who are reluctant to (or simply cannot) move entirely to the cloud, as they can still benefit from some of the advantages of Office 365.

3. Better performance

Hybrid functionality is just the start. SharePoint 2016 was built based on the success of (and the same code as) SharePoint Online in Office 365.Translating this cloud-based success to on-premises SharePoint took time and effort: SharePoint 2016 is considered one of the most tested and stable products when compared to previous versions of the platform.

Why SharePoint 2016 is better:

Its stability has led SharePoint 2016 to be considered as the base code for any future versions of SharePoint. So, now is the time to upgrade--it may be the last time you ever need to.

4. Boundaries and limits

SharePoint list limits are a well-known source of frustration. While a 30,000,000-document limit sure sounds like enough space, if you don’t (or can’t) index your columns, that limit is, in reality, a far more cramped 5,000 items. With SharePoint 2016, column indexing is automated, removing the 5,000-file limit and giving you more space than you should ever need.

Why SharePoint 2016 is better:

You’ll also get a higher list capacity and increased upload file size, which makes uploading files even less restrictive.

5. More mobile-friendly than ever

Mobile devices are taking over the way we work. Around 81% of people in the UK own a smartphone, so it’s important for the enterprise tools we use to be as mobile-friendly as possible.

Why SharePoint 2016 is better:

SharePoint 2016 brings you a better user experience and new features for mobile users through the first dedicated mobile app for the platform. SharePoint for iOS, Android and Windows Phone allows users to stay connected to their most important content, sites, portals and people across their intranet.

You may never need to upgrade again

While time is running out for previous SharePoint iterations, it’s possible that SharePoint Server 2016 will be the last on-premises platform you’ll ever need, meaning you might never need to upgrade again. Time to get to that migration!

What Next?

We're Sharegate partners and can you help you quickly and easily migrate to SharePoint 2016. If you would like any more information or have any questions regarding migration then please get in touch!